Hi -
I have a friend running Windows XP. Suddenly, when she turned on her pc, she got the message "A problem has been detected with your hard drive. Press enter to continue". Nothing happens after pressing enter. Windows sits at the Windows screen. Is there a way to get her important data off of this drive? I used to be able to boot Windows 98 with a startup disk and get data off. Can you do that with Windows XP? What else can we do to try and save this system. Thanks.

To start the Windows Recovery Console, use any of the following methods:
Start your computer by using the Windows Setup floppy disks or the Windows CD-ROM. At the "Welcome to Setup" screen, press F10 or press R to repair, and start the Windows Recovery Console.

stealthMullet, ok tools are availible but I didnt say they were not, i said with a normal 98 boot disk DOS on there you cannot access NTFS drive/paririons, which is correct. ty

H

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lrthamesAuthor Commented: 2003-12-05

Help Help Help!! I'm at my friends house now. I can boot from a CD but when I select recovery console, it asks for the administrator password. There is no password. She doesn't use one on this computer to log on. Pressing enter doesn't work, ESC doesn't work. Any way around this??

The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Microsoft Windows XP Professional

This article was previously published under Q308402

SYMPTOMS
When you attempt to log on to Recovery Console in Windows XP by typing the correct password for the local Administrator account, Recovery Console may display the following error message:

The password is not valid. Please retype the password.
Type the Administrator password:

This error message may occur even though you typed the correct password. If you start Windows XP, successfully log on by using the same password, change the local administrator's password, and restart the computer to Recovery Console, you receive the same error message.
CAUSE
This issue may occur if Windows XP was originally installed from a Sysprep image, or if Sysprep 2.0 was run on the computer at one time. Sysprep.exe makes changes to the way that password keys are stored in the registry; these changes are not compatible with the Recovery Console logon routine.

NOTE: The manufacturer of your computer may have used Sysprep to preinstall Windows XP on your computer.

RESOLUTION
NOTE: If you can start Windows XP and the Recovery Console is not preinstalled on your hard disk, go to step 2 in the following steps. If you can start Windows XP and the Recovery Console is preinstalled on your hard disk, go to step 3.
Download the necessary files, create the appropriate Setup disks for floppy boot installation, start your computer with the Setup disks, and then log on to Recovery Console to correct the problem that is preventing you from starting Windows XP. For additional information about obtaining and using Setup disks, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
310994 Obtaining Windows XP Setup Boot Disks

The Setup disks for floppy boot installation are available for download from the following Microsoft Web sites:
Windows XP Home Edition:
Download WinXP_en_hom_bf.exe now

Windows XP Professional:
Download WinXP_en_pro_bf.exe now

Release Date: October 24, 2001

For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on secure servers that prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

Install the Recovery Console if it is not already preinstalled. To install Recovery Console, use the winnt32 /cmdcons command from the I386 folder on the Windows XP CD-ROM.For additional information about how to install and use the Recovery Console, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
307654 HOW TO: Install and Use the Recovery Console in Windows XP

Contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain and install the following hotfix.A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem that is described in this article. Apply it only to computers that are experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem immediately, download the fix by clicking the download link later in this article or contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information about support costs, visit the following Microsoft Web site:http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS

NOTE: In special cases, charges that are ordinarily incurred for support calls may be canceled if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.
Date Time Version Size File name
---------------------------------------------------
11-May-2001 13:57 5.1.2600.15 225,152 Spcmdcon.sys
12-Nov-2001 04:48 5.1.2600.21 218,624 Srrstr.dll

If you already have Recovery Console installed, installing this hotfix automatically updates the C:\Cmdcons folder with the update so that you can log on to Recovery Console.
Administrator Using Sysprep
To resolve this problem, obtain a version of Windows XP that has Service Pack 1 already integrated, or obtain and install the latest service pack for Windows XP before you run Sysprep. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
322389 How to Obtain the Latest Windows XP Service Pack

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Using Sysprep
To resolve this problem, obtain a version of Windows XP that has Service Pack 1 already integrated.

STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was first corrected in Windows XP Service Pack 1.
MORE INFORMATION
If you reinstall Recovery Console for any reason, you must reinstall this hotfix. To install Recovery Console, use the winnt32 /cmdcons command from the I386 folder on the Windows XP CD-ROM.

OK - I'm back home. I have my friend's computer. I have Windows XP and Windows 98 here at home. I really don't want to take out the hard drive and put it in one of my computers because the last time I did that, I screwed something up on my computer and had to reformat and reload windows. I will start with the recovery console and run a chkdsk /r.

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lrthamesAuthor Commented: 2003-12-05

Hello again. Good news. I ran chkdsk and it found many errors. First errors were "File record segment xxxx is unreadable". Then messages said "Delete index entry xxx in index xxx of file y". Then the message "Windows replaced bad clusters in file xxxx". However, I am now able to boot up windows and I got her data off. What do you think now? Does she need a new hard drive. Or just back up often and take a chance??

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lrthamesAuthor Commented: 2003-12-05

Hello again. Good news. I ran chkdsk and it found many errors. First errors were "File record segment xxxx is unreadable". Then messages said "Delete index entry xxx in index xxx of file y". Then the message "Windows replaced bad clusters in file xxxx". However, I am now able to boot up windows and I got her data off. What do you think now? Does she need a new hard drive. Or just back up often and take a chance??

The bad sectors have been marked for non-use. She can continue to use the drive, but since drives are cheap, I would not hesitate to purchase another. You could then ghost an image of the old drive onto the new, wipe the drive and slave it to the new one. You could also just put it away and use it as a safety net in case something happens in the future.